UVA withstands JMU’s test
Cavaliers guard Beekman suffers right leg injury
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Kihei Clark scored 18 points, Jayden Gardner had 14 points and eight rebounds and No. 3 Virginia held off feisty in-state rival James Madison 55-50 on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers (8-0), who lost starting guard Reece Beekman to a right leg injury early in the first half, prevented the Dukes (7-3) from winning a second straight December game against them. James Madison beat Virginia 52-49 last Dec. 7 in Harrisonburg.
Clark had seven assists while playing nearly 39 minutes with Beekman sidelined.
“Kihei gave everything he had and I had to, you know, ride him,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “Sure, he missed some free throws. And I know he made some mistakes, but you could just see him, you know, how toughminded he was.”
Takal Molson scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half for JMU, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 42 with 7:47 to play. Gardner responded for Virginia by scoring five straight points in a 9-1 run.
The Cavaliers kept the Dukes
in the game by missing eight of 13 free throws over the last six minutes.
Molson made an acrobatic layup while being fouled with 1:51 left, but he missed the free throw. He scored again with 1:01 left, pulling the Dukes within 52-50, but freshman Ryan Dunn answered with a strong move on the baseline for Virginia with 35 seconds to play.
JMU threw the ball away on its ensuing possession.
Big picture
James Madison: The Dukes came into the game leading the nation in scoring (93.3 points per game) and having scored as many as 95 points five times. They were shooting 52.7% for the year, but made just four of their first 19 shots and finished 15 of 55 (26.9%). Vado Morse scored 11 points, the only other JMU player in double figures.
Virginia: The Cavaliers played
the final 36 minutes without Beekman and gave extensive minutes to freshman Isaac McKneely. Virginia will hope Beekman, its third-leading scorer and a primary ballhandler and defender, recovers in time for its showdown with No. 1 Houston on Dec. 17.
Up next
Virginia has a 10-day break before hosting the top-ranked Cougars.